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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Russia’s negotiating stance would change following Ukraine’s alleged drone attack on President Vladimir Putin’s dacha in the Novgorod region.
“Such reckless actions will not be allowed to go unchecked,” Lavrov told Interfax news agency, accusing Ukraine of launching 91 long-range drones targeting the presidential palace, also known as Valdai, on Monday night.
Lavrov did not say whether Putin was at the residence at the time of the alleged attack. Euronews was unable to independently verify these claims.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy denounced the Russian government’s claims as “another lie of the Russian Federation.”
“It’s clear that yesterday we had a meeting with (U.S. President Donald Trump). For Russia, if there is no scandal between us and the United States and we are moving forward, it is clear that it is a failure,” Zelensky said in a conversation with reporters on Monday afternoon.
“They don’t want this war to end. It can only be ended by putting pressure on them. Well, I’m sure they were looking for a reason,” he added.
President Zelensky also warned that the Russian foreign minister’s claims could be a prelude to further attacks on civilian targets inside Ukraine, including key government buildings in Kiev.
“Everyone has to be on guard right now. Absolutely everyone. An attack on the capital could be launched. This is a threat, especially since this person, if you want to call it that, has said he will pick the right targets,” he said.
Earlier Monday, the Ukrainian leader said Washington’s 15 years of security was one of the fruits of his meeting with President Trump the day before at Mar-a-Lago, as U.S.-led negotiations continue to end Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
Following Lavrov’s words, Zelenskiy reiterated that “I think today, in principle, President Trump and his team (and) the Europeans need to engage and cooperate with those who just yesterday said that they really want to end the war.”
Ukraine and its allies have accused the Russian government of deliberately delaying a ceasefire and peace agreement, while the Kremlin has repeatedly made extremist demands as a precondition for progress.
After his meeting with Zelenskiy on Sunday, Trump said “we’ll know in a few weeks” whether the peace plan would work, without setting a deadline or giving a timeline.
